I'm looking to buy a SkS very soon (with the next week). And was wondering which brand or certain Country was the best? Any help would be appreciated..
Everyone has different options. I personal have a two SKS. Yugo and a norico. I feel that can't go wrong with what ever country you pick. The SKS rifles are a nice choice and would make a nice rifle for anyone to own. Cheap and realiable. Have fun what ever you pick.
I have a Norinco that I picked up in 1988. It is a good gun and is plenty accurate. Never had a problem with it. However, I bought my son a Norinco around 2005 and we decided we would go to an Appleseed sometime around 2008. We shot about 1000 rounds through his rifle practicing and then took it to the 2 day shoot. On the second day it had two major malfunctions. The first was the bolt broke where the guides are for the stripper clip. It was still shootable but you could no longer load it with a stripper clip. Then a short time later it had a dead trigger. We gave up on it and went to a backup rifle we brought. After getting it home the rebound disconnector in the trigger group had bent and fallen out of place. I ended up purchasing a new one and replacing it and also getting a new bolt.
It would seem to me that the older Norinco SKS's are better made than the new ones. Also, if you get a new rifle make sure you put plenty of rounds through it to test it out.
I own two Yugos, my brother owns a Yugo, Chinese, & Russian. I think they're all good rifles and don't honestly believe one is truly better than another. But, in case it makes a difference to you though the Yugos don't have chrome lined bores, this has not been a problem for me. If you decide to buy a Yugo try to find one in the best condition possible, check the bore as well as the gas valve. Some Yugo rifles will have corroded gas valves which will affect the function of the rifle (you can buy new gas valves for them which I believe will run $35+/-). The Russian variants are more collectable and will most likely command a premium price.
Russian if possible, I own each variant I can think of, and prefer my russain. Fit/finish is a bit superior. My romanian has the worst trigger I think I've ever shot, and probably the worst looking! I may have a lemon though! I wouldnt DIScourage a Chinese or yugo by any means! Good luck on your search/purchase!